Earl Thomas Morton saved Shirley A. McLaughlin from drowning, Lima, Ohio, June 24, 1967. Mrs. MeLaughlin’s 6-year-old son, who could not swim, ran down a bank and into a reservoir, where the momentum carried him into water five feet deep. Although she was a non-swimmer, Mrs. McLaughlin, 32, ran into the water after the boy, as did another woman who could swim. Mrs. McLaughlin floundered, and in the confusion all three moved farther from the bank and into water twelve and a half feet deep. Morton 15, schoolboy, was attracted and, removing his shoes, entered the water as the woman swam toward him, towing the boy. After aiding them to the bank, Morton waded and swam 25 feet to Mrs. McLaughlin, who meanwhile had been submerged briefly several times and was panic stricken as she tried to stay afloat in the deep water. Mrs. McLaughlin, who greatly outweighed Morton, grasped his hand. He urged her to be calm. She released him, flailed wildly, and then again seized him by the hand. By that time she was nearly exhausted. Morton then towed Mrs. McLaughlin 20 feet to wadable water, from where the other woman aided him in taking her to the bank.
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